Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

AaronCapenBanner Albert Dekker stars as Dr. Alexander Thorkel, an obsessed scientist in Peru who encounters four explorers who have come to see him. They are disturbed by the direction his experiments are taking, which involve radium, so in order to get them out of the way, he shrinks them to one-fifth their normal size with an invention of his, placing them in a life or death struggle to restore their normal size, and stop the mad Dr. Thorkel. Filmed in color, Albert Dekker delivers a strong performance, but all the other characters are too bland and poorly characterized to become involved with their plight, and film as a result just isn't believable or compelling.

MartianOctocretr5 Great fodder for late night horror hosts. A mad scientist is on the loose, performing miniaturizing experiments deep in the jungles of Peru. Some fellow scientists are invited to assist him in his mysterious work, and it's pretty obvious what's going to happen to them. This is one of the earlier science fiction movies, and the "special effects" are certainly primitive by today's standards, but it's a highly re-watchable movie for its novelty value, sparked mostly by a deliciously psycho-sinister characterization by Albert Dekker in the title role. He starts out a paranoid weirdo, jealously guarding his research, and gets more and more bizarre and homicidal as the story progresses.For its time, the giant sets/forced perspective were probably the main draw of the movie, but the maniacal rants and actions of Dr. Thorkell were what I liked best. After making his rejected guests his first human subjects of the "condenser," it becomes a cat-and-mouse game as the sight-impaired Thorkell decides to exterminate his "little friends." Lines such as "I will find you, and when I find you, I will destroy you!" are frequent.The story doesn't grow too much beyond that point, but the action scenes are nonetheless still interesting to watch. Worth a look if you can find a copy.

BA_Harrison Partially sighted molecular biologist Dr. Alexander Thorkel (Albert Dekker) invites a team of fellow scientists to help him with his work at his laboratory deep in the Amazon jungle; within hours of their arrival, the problem that Thorkel has been struggling with has been resolved, and the surprised boffins are immediately given their marching orders, none the wiser about the precise nature of their ungrateful host's experiments.Eager to learn more, the curious group sneaks into Thorkel's room to take a peek at his notes, but discover more than they bargained for when they become the guinea pigs in the secretive genius's next experiment: bundled into a room, they are exposed to a heavy dose of radiation that reduces them to a fraction of their original size.Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, one of the team responsible for bringing King Kong to the screen in 1933, Dr. Cyclops is a fairly routine mad-scientist sci-fi/horror potboiler, but one that benefits immensely from a incredible array of groundbreaking special effects and sumptuous Technicolor photography. Technically, this film is way ahead of its time, looking more like a product of the mid 1950s than the early 40s, and for this reason alone it should be a priority for all fans of fantastic cinema.Utilising a combination of careful camera placement (low shots to make Thorkel appear huge; high shots to make his victims appear small), detailed over-sized sets and props, rear projection, split screen and mattes, Schoedsack and his effects team create scene after scene of memorable movie magic. Take into account that this movie is now over 70 years old and it cannot fail to impress.On the downside, the score is extremely heavy handed and some of the performances are less than stellar (Dekker is excellent, but the exaggerated mannerisms adopted by the pint-sized profs are embarrassingly trite). Thankfully, these are minor quibbles when measured against the film's massive technical accomplishments and the film remains a consistently entertaining experience nonetheless.7.5 out 10, rounded up to 8 for the sight of yummy egghead Dr. Mary Robinson (Janice Logan) in her sexy makeshift toga: she might be reduced to a foot in height, but she's certainly no shrinking violet.

james higgins How unusual to have a film of this genre, from Universal Studios, and in 1940, to be in color. Albert Dekker hams it up quite a bit, but he's very effective. It's quite imaginative and the special effects are really excellent and were deservedly nominated for an Academy Award. It's suspenseful and creative, a very unusual film for that time. The art direction is exceptional. I am just very impressed by the film in general, it's so unique and beautifully done. The same concept was utilized in The Incredible Shrinking Man and the Disney "shrunk" movies, but Dr. Cyclops stands up amazingly well on it's own. Ingenious, a lot of thought and effort were put into the film.